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Little has changed except that
these days the strips form part of the design and are
incorporated into the die! |
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The division of the design into
areas separated by the metal strips is necessary to retain
the colour in the correct area and not run into neighbouring
parts.
The enamel comes in powder form and is mixed with water
and placed in the correct area with a pen. When the areas
do not touch more than one area can be coloured in. In
the example above on the left all the green parts would
be put in together and then the red and white together
afterwards. In the middle example each colour is applied
separately.
The colours are continually applied until the area is
full and in between each application it is fired so that
the enamel runs and fuses to the metal. Hence the badge
on the left, will have 2 coats of each colour and 5 firings,
whilst the middle example will have colour applied 6 times
and 7 firings!
When all the badge is full, the excess is ground off and
the item given a final firing to achieve a glass like
surface. |
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Over
firing can change the colour or take the nature out of
it whilst under-firing leaves the surface unglazed and
pitted.
The firing temperature depends on the colour and some
colours have to be fired hotter than others – white
is hard and is fired at a higher temperature than black.
In general the hard colours are applied to the badge first
so the heat applied continually decreases.
The more complex the design, the greater the skill needed.
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